Lilly and Boehringer’s Jardiance diabetes drug reduces cardiovascular risks

Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Jardiance (empagliflozin) has shown in a study to be the very first blood sugar lowering drug to reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths.

The EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial examined the effect of Jardiance- which is co-marketed by Boehringer- in more than 7,000 adults with type 2 diabetes who demonstrated high cardiovascular risks of heart attacks or strokes.

The trial met its primary endpoint after demonstrating the advantages of Jardiance, when added to standard of care, in reducing cardiovascular deaths.

"The cardiovascular risk reduction Jardiance demonstrated in the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial is exciting and we look forward to sharing the full results," says professor Hans-Juergen Woerle, global vice president medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim. "Approximately 50% of deaths in people with type 2 diabetes worldwide are caused by cardiovascular disease. Reducing cardiovascular risk is an essential component of diabetes management."

Diseases such as diabetes can increase the risk of heart disease and strokes. Treating it ought to reduce the risk of developing those problems, but evidence from previous cardiovascular trials with diabetes drugs have failed to find a positive outcome.

Other diabetes drugs such as Merck’s Januvia and AstraZeneca’s Onglyza have also tried to gain the same results. However, Jardiance is seen to be the only glucose-lowering agent to have demonstrated cardiovascular risk reduction in a dedicated cardiovascular outcomes trial.

In a research note, Tim Anderson, Sanford Bernstein analyst says: "This is a positive, and a first for the field of diabetes."

The drugmakers say they plan to release full results of the trial in September at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm.

Yasmita Kumar